Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
by MarvelAsh
Summary: Children are going missing, each one in the same woods. Four nights before they are taken, a letter appears on the ground outside their cabin or tent. L.O.S.T. And then they are gone. When Agent Cameron Morgan of the AEGIS3 is assigned a new case, she is confident that she can handle it. Its the new partner that may throw her over the edge. Because he's supposed to be dead.
1. Chapter 1

**New story! Yay!**

**Okay, so here's the deal... I really want to write this story. And I will. But to be completely honest, whether or not I post this story depends on you guys and how much you like it (read:reviews and favorites)**

**This is kinda a trial post. If I get a bunch of people who want to read it, then I will keep posting. But if not, I have college and I can't use my time on posting a story no one will read. **

**(Don't want to be that author that gives ultimatums.. Reviews just motivate me :)**

**This story is loosely based on a book I read when I was younger, called Children of the Lost. I hope you guys like it!**

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><p>If it had been any other subway station, Agent Cameron Morgan would have been dead. Fired, but dead first and foremost.<p>

And that didn't bother her as much as it should have.

At the moment, she sat in her boss's office, waiting for her boss to arrive. Her boss seemed to be taking his good old time, however, and all she could think about was the turn of events that had come about.

Cammie absently played with a newly torn hole in her sleeve as her thoughts turned to earlier that day.

It wasn't supposed to be messy.

She had found herself running through New York City at a frantic pace, attempting to dodge the pedestrians along the way, and barreling through the stubborn ones who refused to move. There were some things Cammie considered more important than a commuter's ego.

Things like the 22 year old woman that Cammie had been chasing through the streets. She was an unknown hacker that had just appeared on Cammie's radar a few days ago. She went by the alias 'Bennett', and had begun an almost unnoticeable hack into thousands of online bank accounts all over New York City, stealing a little less than a dollar from the savings accounts every day. The money had piled up quickly, but slow enough that she stayed under the radar.

It was by accident that her name had even shown up on Cammie's desk. An elderly old man, one of Bennett's victims and a parsimonious man in nature, had kept pride in his ability to manage his accounts, especially now that everything was electronically monitored and tallied. Along with watching his online balance, he had hand-written accounts of every penny he ever spent. The mistakes had quickly added up, and he took the matter to the authorities soon after.

Just in time.

Bennett had hacked into government banks just hours after.

Cammie had tried to simply confront the hacker and take her in. Easy. Except, the suspect hadn't agreed with her plan, and instead decided to run. No matter how hard Cammie tried, she couldn't seem to catch up with the hacker. The distance between them had stayed the same.

The chase eventually brought them into the busier areas of the city, away from the slummy internet café Cammie had initially confronted Bennett in. Right as Cammie was tiring, Bennett took a sharp right turn and careened down the stairs into the subway station.

Cammie had smiled. It had looked like things were about to get much easier. She felt a second wind rush into her body, and her pounding footsteps brought her closer to the seemingly tireless criminal.

It was all fine. Cammie had it under control. That is, until they reached the subway platform, surprisingly bare for the late afternoon hour.

Bennett shoved through a group of people standing near the platform edge and barreled through, accidentally knocking into a little girl. In a turn of events that Cammie could almost see coming, the small child flew into the air and landed on the tracks below, too stunned to even cry out.

Cammie had made a split second decision. And no matter how much Bennett needed to be stopped, saving a life was infinitely more important.

So, she had raced to the edge and dropped down beside the child, bending over to quickly scoop the girl into her arms. And of course, seeing as she hadn't had enough excitement and adrenaline that afternoon, the next thing that penetrated her vision was the blinding glare of an incoming train.

It was in every handbook. Every manual. Every warning. Never _ever_ freeze. Don't try to climb up onto the platform. Everything Cammie had ever read was screaming in her brain, telling her to run, run away from the train and climb up the ladder that should be on the edge of the platform. It was protocol.

Except they weren't there.

Cammie had looked around frantically, but the fact stayed the same. This station didn't have any ladder leading from the tracks to the platform.

Oh, they were _so_ getting written up.

A quick glance at the tunnel showed that she had maybe 15 seconds left. She had run over to the platform, trying to climb up. Who _cared_ what the manuals said. Anything was possible with enough adrenaline, right?

Maybe.

Except adrenaline didn't do much when you had been running through the city, and now held a flailing child in your hands.

Cammie had shoved the little girl into the only waiting arms that were jutting out from the platform edge. For some odd reason, no one else was near enough to help. And they were New Yorkers. They were conditioned to ignore their surroundings.

The man had quickly grasped the child and tried to juggle her around so he had an arm to help Cammie up, but there was no time.

Cammie had made a split second decision. One that, in any other subway station, would have ended her life. But Cammie had grown up in Gallagher Academy. She knew the odds that what she was about to do wouldn't work. She knew that most of her old teachers would've been proud of her guts, and horrified at her stupidity.

But she also knew, with one glance, that the height of the wooden beams that crisscrossed in large rectangles (human sized rectangles) under her feet were just barely tall enough to work.

6 inches.

And then she had dropped to her stomach in the middle of a rectangle and prayed.

The experience had been unlike anything that had ever happened to her before. Nothing at Gallagher Academy had prepared her for the gut wrenching experience of feeling a subway train fly directly over her head, missing her by mere centimeters. The hot gusts of wind that ruffled her hair, terrifying her as she hoped desperately that it wouldn't fly up and catch on the undercarriage. The nails-on-a-chalkboard screech of the brakes as they still tried to stop and miss her.

_Too late!_

The subway had finally slowed to a stop, one of the cars still resting right over her body.

After that, everything had turned to a blur. It had taken an hour and a half for everything to get sorted out. They hadn't moved the subway right away, as the conductor had a panic attack, terrified that he would kill Cammie on the way back. Communication from under the train was difficult, but by the time the police arrived, she had finally been able to convince them that she would be fine.

After all, it wasn't like she had been trained as _spy_ or anything.

She had spent the last 30 minutes at the station, putting on a mild persona for the cops and skillfully avoiding the cameras that appeared. By the time she got up the subway stairs, there was already a car waiting to take her to the office.

Cammie sighed. Her boss was a very strict person, one who preferred low profile over everything else. Not only had she let Bennett get away, she had also gotten trapped under a train.

Her boss wouldn't care that after the fact, no one could remember exactly what her face had looked like. The fact that no one had actually gotten her on camera.

Cammie shifted in her seat. Four and a half years ago, she may have been nervous. But not anymore. She didn't care anymore.

Her boss would be right. The Chameleon might as well have failed completely. She knew better. She could do better. She _had_ done better.

But none of that mattered at the moment. It hadn't mattered in a long time.

The door slid open and Cammie's boss stepped into the room. He was silent at first, footsteps making no sound in the thick carpet beneath his feet. He finally stopped behind his desk and sat down in the big chair. The silence continued for a few minutes more before he finally looked up.

Edward Townsend stared her down. "What happened?"

Cammie rolled her eyes. He always was one for dramatics.

"Bennett knocked a little girl off the tracks," she shrugged. "Had to save her."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about why you threw all protocol out the window and _ducked under a train_."

"Sir, you of all people should understand that there are some cases where protocol had to be chucked and you have to improvise." Cammie stared back.

"ETA?"

"Less than 20 seconds."

"Platform assistance?"

"One man, holding the girl."

"Ladder?"

"None."

Townsend's eyebrow arched up. "None?"

Cammie shrugged again. "Safety code violation."

"And you didn't jump up to the platform because?"

"At that point I only had five seconds, platform was high enough that I'd need a running jump, and the wooden beams were just tall enough," she smirked. "I'm a small person."

Townsend shifted in his chair. "How long have you worked for AEGIS3?"

"Four years," Cammie answered easily. "Six months after graduation." It had taken them four of those six months to even consider joining. The events that happened right before graduation had killed her. She knew what was coming next.

Something in Townsend's expression changed. She could almost see the slightest bit of worry, caring.

Almost.

"Are you okay?" On anyone else, the gruff tone would've sounded rude and abrasive. On him, it was almost gentle.

"I'm fine," came the standard answer. "Never better."

Townsend didn't respond. He never did. They both knew her answer was a load of crap. They both knew that the adrenaline she got on missions and the lives she saved were the only things that kept her going most days. And they both knew that she had a pretty good reason to lie.

"AEGIS3 is not a new agency." Townsend began the speech he generally gave the new guys. "It is smaller than normal, but it has been growing rapidly over the past decade. It's becoming an invisible world power in its own right.

"It stands for Acumen, Enforcement, Guardian, International. And the _S_ cubed. Security, Service, Strategies. Acumen: the ability to understand and reason. Enforcement, Guardian. We enforce laws and guard those who need it. International: that one is pretty self-explanatory. We have hidden bases all over the world. Security, Service, and Strategies. These are self-explanatory as well.

"The aegis is a part of ancient Greek mythology. It was a symbol of protection, of security. It was the shield that Zeus and Athena used, and the gorgon's head on the front would scare its enemies half to death before they died at the bearer's hands-"

"No offense, sir," Cammie interrupted. She could only take so much. "You have said all of this to me several times before. Why is this relevant at the moment?"

Townsend smiled apologetically. The sight of it sent Cammie's stomach plummeting. Nothing good ever came of his smiles, but that wasn't what put her on edge. It was the apology. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you."

There was a sudden shuffling noise behind Cammie. She whipped around in her chair and her heart froze in its place, much like it had almost five years ago.

"I was talking to him."

At that moment, Cammie didn't even care that she hadn't noticed anyone enter the room. Because the man who was leaning against the wall, smirking at her, wasn't supposed to be here.

This wasn't Zach Goode. It couldn't be.

Zach Goode was dead.

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><p><strong>Okay! First chapter is up! Want it to continue? <strong>

**Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Seriously, college is crazy. And it's only the fourth week.

Sorry it took me so long to update. Hopefully it'll be more frequent, but I make no promises.

For this story, because of my crazy schedule, whether or not I continue it will depend on the amount of interest. So, if you guys love it, please review and favorite. Life is crazy at the moment.

I hope you like it.

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><p><em>Townsend smiled apologetically. The sight of it sent Cammie's stomach plummeting. Nothing good ever came of his smiles, but that wasn't what put her on edge. It was the apology. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you."<em>

_There was a sudden shuffling noise behind Cammie. She whipped around in her chair and her heart froze in its place, much like it had almost five years ago. _

"_I was talking to him."_

_At that moment, Cammie didn't even care that she hadn't noticed anyone enter the room. Because the man who was leaning against the wall, smirking at her, wasn't supposed to be here. _

_This wasn't Zach Goode. It couldn't be._

_Zach Goode was dead._

-:-:-:-

All of the rules and guidelines, handbooks and manuals. None of them had covered this. There wasn't a section on what to do if your best friend came back from the dead.

Cammie stared at him in shock. Her eyes were beginning to burn from the strain, but she found it impossible to blink. If she blinked, there was always the chance that he would disappear.

If Zach had ever had a baby face, it was definitely gone. His eyes and the strong curve of his jaw were the only things that hadn't changed. That, and his stupid smirk. He had buffed up, more rugged now than he had been before. Back when he was a teenage spy/assassin.

Zach's smirk disappeared as slowly as she stood up, completely gone by the time she was upright. All thoughts of Townsend standing behind her vanished entirely as she stood less than four feet away from a dead man.

It was only Townsend's next sentence that brought her back to the present.

"Your mission begins in 12 hours."

Cammie's head whipped back towards the senior agent, her eyes widening in surprise. "What?" She mentally winced. This was a _great_ time to seem unprepared.

Townsend gave her a look, a steel reprimand with underlying sympathy.

He didn't have to say anything. Yes, she should have been listening. But _honestly,_ did she not get any slack considering the circumstances?

This was Townsend. Of course she didn't.

Townsend slid two files across his wooden desk. Cammie tensed almost unnoticeably as Zach walked closer and grabbed the thick file with his name on it. As soon as her body had relaxed, Cammie did the same. She sank back down into her seat and opened it.

The case file had a few character profiles in it, her face gracing the top of one of them.

"Several cases of kidnappings have been reported, the most recent ones being within the past two weeks. The first one was seven years ago."

"Seven years? Why haven't we heard of this before now?" Zach's voice floated from behind her, moving closer as he sat down in the padded chair that sat opposite hers.

"The authorities who took care of the case looked into it. There was little to no evidence, nothing to suggest that anything had happened. It was eventually forgotten. However, within the past 12 months, it has begun happening again and again.

"Every case has taken place in the woods. Families go camping, or visit a cabin in the woods over a period of at least four days. In the middle of the first night, a letter is carved into the ground outside the tent or cabin. By the fourth night there, a child is missing from the cabin, and the only evidence left is the word 'LOST' on the ground outside."

Cammie's eyebrows flew upward. This was more serious than she had originally thought.

"You'll be leaving in one of AEGIS3's more…understated planes. And then you will leave for Nevada. We've gotten intel from a few connections near there. The plane will land in Carson City, and you'll travel by car from there to the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. It is a federal area, and also the same general spot where each of the kidnappings took place."

"They all happened in the same spot?" Zach asked.

"The Carson-Iceberg Wilderness encompasses over 160,000 acres," was Townsend's reply. "You'll be staying in tents. The equipment you need will be on the plane, as usual. The rest of the necessary information is in the folders."

The note of finality in his voice rang loud and clear.

Cammie closed the folder and stood up, automatically moving towards the door. She headed down the hall, barely stopping to grab her coat and bag before she headed out the front doors of the non-descript building.

It did not go unnoticed that a certain dead ex-partner did not follow her.

-:-:-:-

People only have five senses. It was a well-known fact, according to most civilians. And the internet. Which was perfect proof that the internet was wrong. While most people (read: civilians) only had senses, perfect genetics and years with a spy mom at the Gallagher Academy had perfectly formed Cammie's sixth sense until it was flawless.

Which is exactly how she knew that she was being followed. While it wasn't Zach (she had already made sure of that, and she hadn't even needed to look) it was definitely someone who wasn't a stranger to the spy game (which, if you think about it, isn't too much different than the child's game of cops and robbers, just with a little more blood and bullets.)

Cammie took a quick right into the nearest alley, one she knew would lead her through the rougher parts of town before depositing her by a subway. She kept it cool, giving away no indication that she was being followed.

Moments later, Cammie whirled around and lashed out at the stalker, catching him/her with her well trained foot in the person's gut. A breathy wheeze escaped from her small pursuer. It was definitely a female. Cammie slammed her forearm into the woman's chest and pushed her against the brick wall.

Today was _so_ not a good day to tick her off.

"So," Cammie's tone was cool, calm. Dangerous. But only if you knew her. "Care to explain why you were following me?"

"Dang, girl," the familiar voice spoke up. Bex pried Cammie's arm off of her person and stepped away from the wall. "You need a vacation." Bex eyed Cammie up and down. "What exactly have you been doing while I was gone?"

Bex had been on an extremely sensitive mission in Iran the past few weeks. She normally walked home with Cammie, but the past few weeks Cammie had gotten used to taking the trek alone.

Cammie stared ahead, avoiding Bex's gaze. "I've been busy."

Bex's face took on a troubled look. "Cammie, this isn't healthy. I know it was hard, but-" she stuttered to a stop. Something wasn't right. Cammie always interrupted her when she spoke of what happened all those years ago. "What is going on?"

Cammie turned and continued walking the long path to her apartment. Or at least the subway that led to her apartment. Their apartment.

She wasn't ready for this. This was not in the plan. No, the plan was to continue working as many jobs as she could, and then someday…stop. Whether it was from old age and incompetency or from being killed in the line of duty. Although, if she was being honest, the second one was preferred. She didn't want to outlive her usefulness.

Her plan had been working. The adrenaline kept her alive, kept her moving.

Until it was oh-so-simply ripped into dozens of shredded pieces twenty minutes ago.

No. Cammie shook her head resolutely. No, this didn't change anything. Yes, it was unexpected, but he couldn't just show up after all this time and expect things to go back the way they were before. She wouldn't forgive him that easily.

Her plan was fine. Her life was fine. Slightly shaken, but fine.

Cammie paused her train of thought long enough to realize that Bex was following her like a shadow, albeit a more noticeable one now.

"Bex, go home." The steel in her voice was not missed.

Bex didn't even flinch. One, because she was Bex, but also because this was normal.

"I am," was all she said.

-:-:-:-

It took Cammie another 10 hours before she finally told her best friend. Only two hours left before she had to catch a plane. Only one hour that Bex could use to yell at her in heavily accented English.

Cammie walked into the living room and sat down on the large couch that Bex was currently sprawled across. She sat for a moment, knowing that Bex was fully aware of why she had come in there.

"He's back."

It only took two seemingly innocent words to render Bex speechless. A new record.

"He?" Bex's accent was heavy, her eyes flashing.

Cammie nodded. She braced herself for the inevitable, however, what happened next was completely unexpected.

Bex blinked. Her mouth opened and shut again, giving off the impression of a dazed fish, one that wasn't quite sure where the worm on a hook had come from, or why it was currently above water.

"Cam-"

"It's not going to change anything."

Bex's eyebrows flew up. "It's not?"

Cammie shook her head. "He's dead to me."

"Cammie, maybe you should hear him out. You don't even know what happened."

"What _possible_ excuse could there be?" Cammie shook her head. "I don't know. I just want to get through the next few days. I have to be at the tarmac in 40 minutes. Townsend assigned us to the same assignment."

Bex straightened up indignantly. "What?"

"It's business. It's my job. It _won't_ be personal." Cammie stood up and dragged her dad's old army bag from the hall closet. She never had been much of a packer. Her eyes drifted past the brand new luggage in the back, and she braced herself for the rush of emotion, but none came. The lack of emotion wasn't as startling as it should have been. Was she even feeling anymore?

Cammie slammed the door shut, on both the closet, and the memories, and went to go pack.

She would be fine. She _was_ fine.

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><p>Let me know what you think :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Huge thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. This college semester is almost over and so it's been really hard to find time to write. I have 3 weeks left in the semester, so I'm hoping to update soon after that. Then my updates will come more often!**

**This chapter has some influence and a quote from the tv show Leverage, along with a line from the movie National Treasure. Points to anyone who can find the quotes ;)**

**Please let a review, let me know what you think!**

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><p><em> "Cammie, maybe you should hear him out. You don't even know what happened."<em>

_"What possible excuse could there be?" Cammie shook her head. "I don't know. I just want to get through the next few days. I have to be at the tarmac in 40 minutes. Townsend assigned us to the same assignment."_

_Bex straightened up indignantly. "What?"_

_"It's business. It's my job. It won't be personal." Cammie stood up and dragged her dad's old army bag from the hall closet. She never had been much of a packer. Her eyes drifted past the brand new luggage in the back, and she braced herself for the rush of emotion, but none came. The lack of emotion wasn't as startling as it should have been. Was she even feeling anymore?_

_Cammie slammed the door shut, on both the closet, and the memories, and went to go pack._

_She would be fine. She was fine._

-:-:-:-

Cammie had planned to meet Zach at the airport. There was no need to live through the painful reunion that would occur if Zach showed up at her apartment. That's not what she told him of course, but they both knew what she meant.

However, she didn't account for the fact that Zach was…Zach. Completely unpredictable. And obstinate.

Even though Bex knew he was in town, neither one of them had planned for her unexpected instinctual reaction. And suddenly Cammie's packing was being interrupted by a crashing noise that sounded painfully like Great Aunt Ida's crystal lamp breaking, followed by a great amount of cursing and yelling in what sounded like Gujarati.

Cammie dropped the shirt she was currently folding (although, if she's being honest, nothing is actually being folded) and exhaled in exasperation as her eyes rolled upwards. She knew that this would happen eventually, but she had been hoping to avoid the confrontation until after they got back from the case.

"_Don't give me that! **I**_ _was the one who considered giving you a second chance!"_ Bex had Zach against the wall in a specialized hold of her own invention. Bex holds didn't have names. She claimed that naming them took the "special" out and made them textbook. Cammie was pretty sure that was Baxter for "its illegal."

"Bex-" Cammie stopped her hesitant reprimand as Zach's eyes met hers. A thousand looks passed between them. Or at least, attempted to. But this was purely from habit, from years of having conversations without words. Cammie's gaze shuttered almost immediately and she stiffly walked into the connected kitchen.

How was she supposed to respond to this? Cammie had never had a 'normal' life, per se, but she was pretty sure that most civilians wouldn't respond well to their dead best friend coming back. _Oh, no, I'm not dead, I just had to fake my death for the past four and a half years. Sorry 'bout that._

There hadn't been a section in the AEGIS3 handbook for these kinds of situations. _How To Deal If Your Dead Partner Comes Back To Life._

She was pretty sure Bex's sarcasm was rubbing off on her.

After another five minutes and 23 seconds of shuffling aimlessly around the kitchen, opening and closing random cabinet doors as she listened to Zach and Bex finish their….disagreement, Cammie finally gave up the ruse and grabbed her ratty suitcase from its spot near the back door. In an attempt to fit her cover, her suitcase was actually an old green army duffel bag that used to be her grandpa's.

She walked back out into the living room and reluctantly looked at Zach. "Let's go."

-:-:-:-

The ride to the airport was silent. Uncomfortably silent.

Cammie considered breaking the silence for all of two seconds.

No.

It was too soon to try and has out what had happened. And this was hardly the place to attempt that anyway. Arguments between the two of them usually ended in yelling and pacing. Any attempts at conversation at this point would have to be painful small talk, something neither of them enjoyed.

She turned her attention to the car instead.

It was a black, 2013 Tesla Model S. Very subtle. Whatever he had been doing the past four and a half years had obviously paid off in spades. She clenched her jaw slowly and stared straight ahead. At least he had something tangible to show for his time away.

Suddenly desperate for something to do, she rifled through the bags at her feet and pulled out their profiles, complete with new identities.

She opened her folder and Zach's folder and held them side by side. Her new name was Cammie Mason. Zach was to be Zach Mason. A sudden feeling of dread started creeping up through her stomach and chest. She scanned the whole file until she found what she was looking for.

_"_Relationship: Siblings"

_Thank you, Townsend_. Cammie breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

"So what's our story?" Zach's eyes never strayed from the road.

"Zach and Cammie Mason, brother and sister. We're on a trip to the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness because we….love to camp?"

He shrugged. "Works for me. No one is going to ask, anyway. Do we have any other family?"

It was Cammie's turn to shrug. "Only if the situation calls for it, I guess." She studied the files a few minutes more and then frowned. "Here's something. There's a note in here. Says that we're on the same flight as two major employees from a company that AEGIS3 is watching. If we see anything suspicious, we need to note it and let Townsend know."

Zach frowned. "What company?"

"Imagistics. From what I can tell-there isn't much information here- they specialize in lots of things, but one of the branches in their company is frozen food. They're suspected of messing with ingredients and expiration dates in their food. They have a suspicious number of deaths and illnesses that they've successfully covered up, and I guess we've been keeping an eye on them. No hard proof yet." Cammie held up the pictures of the two employees for him.

He glanced at the pictures, committing them to memory in less than five seconds, and nodded slowly. "Names?"

"Sally Bennett and Chris Damian."

"Alright."

Zach pulled into the airport parking lot and smoothly pulled into the first available space he saw. Cammie packed up the files and started to take off her seatbelt. She stopped as she saw him studying her face, making no effort to get out of the car.

"What?" The word came out blunter than she had meant it.

Zach hesitated. Stopped. Opened his mouth again. "Look. I know you're mad at me, Ga-"

"Cammie." There was an underlying steel to her tone.

He winced. A resigned look came over his face a moment later and he nodded. "Cammie. I know you're probably mad at me, and you have every right to be," he hurried as he noticed the look on her face. "And I promise I'll explain everything, but can we please at least act congenial towards each other for now?"

Cammie felt a cold fury sweep through her at his words. The feeling surprised her. She hadn't felt this rich an emotion since…

She kept her face straight, robotically opened the door and stepped out, grabbing her bags as she went.

"Okay," he muttered, following suit. They walked in silence towards the airport.

Once they got halfway through the parking lot, closer to the other civilians, Cammie loosened her posture and plastered a practiced smile on her face, convincing but not very big. She wasn't a miracle worker. Just a highly established spy who happened to be very ticked off at the moment. And rightly so. Although 'ticked off' didn't quite cover it.

"Here you go," she effortlessly slid her bags off her arms and onto his, adding at least 40 pounds to his load. Cammie threw an easy grin his way. "Big brothers are supposed to be gentlemen. That's how Mom raised you, isn't it?"

"Depends," Zach smirked, "on how irritating my little sister is being."

Cammie didn't respond verbally, choosing instead to elbow him roughly. The tension between them could wait. They had to sell this act.

-:-:-:-

The 10 hour plane ride was long and awkward. Zach ended up falling asleep halfway through the first movie, resulting in the cliché moment where Cammie found herself serving as the pillow. Thankfully, he eventually shifted, leaving just enough room for her to slide out of her seat and head towards the tiny bathroom.

There were three sections of seats in the plane, with the middle one being a lot larger than the two sides. The airplane tickets that Townsend had provided were perfect, two of the three seats available on the left side. The third seat was left unoccupied, providing them with some modicum of privacy.

The bathrooms were both occupied when Cammie got there, so she stepped to the side of the tiny corridor to wait. A crying baby quickly caught her attention and she turned her head slightly to look. One of her favorite things to do, and what helped make her such a good spy, was her tendency to people watch. Of course, her methods of people watching usually differed from a normal person's because of her heightened senses and skills.

The young mother holding the child was distressed, trying to keep the baby quiet with little success. However, it wasn't the mother that worried her. No, it was the man sitting six rows in front of her. Chris Damian.

Cammie's eyes narrowed as she frowned. Something was off…..

The man was sweating like a pig and showing all the major signs of nervousness. The seat beside him was empty.

Cammie turned back to the bathroom, now empty, and glanced pleadingly at the woman in front of her. "I'm so sorry, but is there any way I could cut in front of you?" she whispered.

The woman looked up disinterestedly.

"It's just," Cammie lowered her voice even more, "The man walking towards us is my ex, and I really need to get out of this hallway." She subtly pointed her head towards the very large, very muscular man (Cammie was pretty sure he was an ex-con and possibly involved in a mob based on the suspicious tattoo that was peeking out from under his sleeve) walking across the plane towards them.

The woman looked at the man and stepped back away from the bathroom. "I see why you left him," was all that she said.

Cammie smiled gratefully in response and slipped into the tiny room. She took less than two minutes to slightly change her appearance, putting in deep brown contacts and changing shirts, putting her hair up in a high ponytail. It wasn't much, but hopefully if she ever had to see Chris Damian again he wouldn't recognize her

As she stepped back out into the hallway, she avoided eye contact with the woman, whispering a quiet 'thank you' as she slipped by.

Cammie walked up the aisle and sat down in the seat by Chris Damian. "Is this seat taken?"

There was no answer, merely a quick shake of the head.

Cammie frowned. Why would Imagistics buy two tickets for their employees and seat them separately? She pulled out her phone, quickly hacked into the airport's website and found the receipt for Damian's seat. It was paid for by Imagistics, in the same transaction as one seat in first class.

She turned to Damian and smiled. "Thanks so much. I was stuck back there, same row as the screaming baby. I swear, if I had to sit there one more second, I was going to lose my mind!"

Damian nodded, seemingly relaxing as he turned towards her. "It's no problem."

"You flying alone?"

He nodded.

"Business or pleasure? You strike me as a company guy," Cammie smiled warmly as she mindlessly messed with her phone.

"I am. I work for Imagistics."

Cammie frowned, cocking her head to the side. "Is that the company that makes all those cameras?"

"No, we specialize in lots of things, some electronics, but I work in the division that overlooks the frozen foods we produce."

"Well, that sounds…boring," she stated.

Damian smiled. "Sometimes." He shifted in his seat and turned to look out the window.

"Don't like flying?"

"No, flying is fine, but I'm headed to Carson City for a business meeting, and I'm nervous about how it's going to go." He really was nervous. He was rambling, sharing more than he probably normally would.

"What's it for?" She scrolled through pictures on her phone, attempting to make him feel more comfortable talking. The trick to the random questions was keeping it from feeling like an interrogation. The baby had finally stopped crying, she realized subconsciously.

"I found some irregularities in payments the company had made, and some mistakes in our product testing. They're sending me down to Nevada to help go over the mistakes."

Mistakes in payments? Cammie clicked her phone off and sat still, thinking. "I'm sure it'll go well," she replied absently.

Suddenly her eyes widened. "It was nice talking to you," she smiled at him. "Thanks for letting me borrow the seat."

She turned back in the direction of her seat and walked calmly, normally, until she reached Zach. She sat down in her seat and touched Zach's neck, just under his jaw, knowing that to be the one spot he hated people touching. (There was an incident at Gallagher involving some thick rope, a burlap sack, and hairspray. It was a touchy topic with him.) He woke up instantly, tensing as he took in his surroundings.

"Zach," she whispered in his ear, "something's wrong. I talked to Damian. He was rambling nervously and said the company is sending him to Nevada in order to review some mistakes he found in the product testing that was done on the frozen food. He also mentioned that he found some unusually large payments there."

Zach sat up, concentrating.

"The information we were given on the case said that the other employee, Sally Bennett, is here for close to the same reasons, only in another division of the company. They didn't know yet why Damian was here."

"So, we have two employees for the same company that found unusually large payments that the company gave to whoever reviewed and tested the company's products? And they placed both employees in separate areas so they don't accidentally meet and realize that they're here for the same reasons…"

Cammie nodded. "Last time I had a case like this, the company was trying to get rid of anything that could cast a suspicious light on their product. The large payments were probably the pay-offs to keep anyone from finding out about bad reviews. They can't have anyone that works for them noticing pay-offs. I don't think they're sending these people to Nevada for meetings. I think they're sending them off so they don't ever come back."

Zach's eyes widened. "Imagistics is going to take down the plane they're on. Take down the plane we're on."

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><p>:))<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Huge thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed, or favorite this story! I'm finally out of school and done with all major commitments until late August, so I hope to update more often.

I never found time to reply to most of the reviews, so if you didn't get a response, I still loved the feedback!

Cookiejunkie: Thank you so much! I hoped that the difference in Cammie's personality came across. Glad to see that it did. No worries though, we'll find out why soon enough… Not _too _soon though ;) I've actually never seen the Sherlock tv series… But the fact that their friendship reminds you of Sherlock and Watson still makes me happy!

ButteryHighlights: She does seem to be killing herself, doesn't she? You'll find out soon!

Smirk and Walk Away: The confrontation is coming, but it will be a while before everything is completely laid out on the table…This stuff takes time They weren't in a relationship yet, but they were definitely more than friends. That awkward stage where nothing has actually been decided, kind of how they were in the books. I think it comes along with being spies. Relationships take longer to happen.

GallagherGirls13BYE, Captain Hook the ninja, Lmb111514, Stronger-Than-Fear, CodeBlue19, Crazy-For-Goode, Eldas2002, espia, MackyWacky17, Lollipops101, The Productive Purple Princess, and Guest: Thank you so much for reviewing!

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><p><em>Zach's eyes widened. "Imagistics is going to take down the plane they're on. Take down the plane we're on."<em>

-:-:-:-

Cammie blinked. "No, they wouldn't need to take such drastic measures. They could also use a sniper in the crowd, but the airport security cameras and the number of witnesses would make that difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Or they could spike the drinks here, but there'd be no guarantee that both targets would drink at all, much less order the same one. Unless they had a flight attendant on board do it."

Zach shook his head impatiently. "Too much trouble to go to."

Cammie raised an eyebrow. "And taking down a plane isn't?"

"Taking down the plane would leave no doubt that the targets were gone," Zach reasoned. His eyes narrowed in concentration. Cammie stared at him, the look so familiar and so… Zach that it made her chest hurt. She shook off the feeling as quickly as she could.

"It would also ensure that there would be a nationwide manhunt on their tails. The easiest play would be having a hit man on the plane. Maybe one on the plane, and one at the gate to ensure that the witnesses never got off." It came out colder than she had intended.

Zach said nothing.

She turned her focus back to the problem at hand, pulling her laptop out of her carry-on bag and pulled up the file off of her AEGIS3 flash drive.

"Why are they paying off the product reviewers? I mean, other than the obvious, that the products aren't safe and they don't want anyone to find out. But an employee finding out about some large payments shouldn't throw up this many red flags."

"I'm looking," Cammie said absentmindedly. She scrolled through what little they had on the company. There was a sound bite they had collected on the CEO of Imagistics. She slipped earphones into the computer and passed one half to Zach. All they heard for the first few moment was static and beeping before they finally heard a voice louder than the background noise. It was a one way conversation between the company CEO and whoever he was talking to on his phone.

"-when the subpoenas get executed, it's going to…well, if I don't do something now, I'm going to lose the company! ...I put the assets on a flight to somewhere…Well, I don't _know_ where, the idiot who placed them on the flight was supposed to send them to the Cayman's, but he somehow managed to mess everything up, and send them to Utah, or Vegas, or something…It doesn't matter. Everything is on that flight. The rest is up to you."

The sound slowly fizzled out and then stopped with a _click_.

"He's liquidating," Zach said slowly.

Cammie nodded. "The assets must be the two employees. But why is it so important that they get rid of the evidence like this? Why would this cause him to lose the company?" She scrolled down through the small case file. "All this says is that there was a….wait a minute…"

"What?" Zach tried to peer over her shoulder.

She slowly put the computer down and tried to make sense of everything as her mind raced through facts faster than she could put them together.

"What?"

"There's an ongoing case against Imagistics. Apparently a little 6 year old girl was seriously poisoned by one of their frozen dinners. And she wasn't the first one, but she's the first to sue the company. The girl's mother is claiming that the food is old and expired, and she also apparently suspects that there are some dangerous ingredients in the dinners that were put in there to save money and says that everything she bought from the company was spoiled."

"Why is a company that makes frozen dinners named Imagistics?" Zach mused aloud.

"They make other things. The company changed markets and kept the name," came her absentminded reply. "That's it."

"What?"

"The case," Cammie turned to face him as her words came faster. "There's been such a huge uproar. All the parents, blogging soccer moms, they're all posting negative reviews about the company. The blogger mom's kids are a part of the target consumers, and the blogger mom is no longer buying these dinners for her kids. If word came out, specifically from these two employees and anyone they told, that would just add fuel to the fire. There must already be a pretty strong case against the company. Imagistics can't lose this case, and-"

"-and they're going to do whatever it takes to keep that from happening." Zach finished.

Cammie pulled a pair of comms from her pocket and tossed one to him as she stood up. "I'm heading to the luggage hold to check it out."

"Okay, I'm going to go talk to Sally Bennett." Zach reached into his wallet and pulled out a badge.

Cammie squinted at it. "Is that an Air Marshal's badge?"

He nodded.

"What if there's already a Marshal on this flight?"

"There only one Air Marshal for every 100 flights," he shrugged. "My odds are pretty good."

She shook her head, stood and headed towards the galley. The wall to her left had an access panel screwed into the wall near the floor. She bent over and was starting to remove the panel when she heard someone come up behind her and clear their throat.

Cammie turned just enough to see one of the stewardesses standing behind her.

"Excuse me, what _are_ you doing?"

Cammie paused just long enough to pull an FBI badge out of her pocket and flash it at the lady, handing her the wall panel at the same time. "FBI Medical emergency. My partner left his asthma inhaler in his luggage." She crawled through the opening, pulling with her a small flashlight that she had stolen. "Oh, and by the way! I think coach is out of peanuts."

The first bag her flashlight hit had a tag on it that read "CHRIS DAMIAN" in thick bold letters. "Well, hello."

She quickly rifled through the bag, slipping her hands around the seams and every other suspicious looking spot. Nothing.

Cammie turned her attention back to the conversation in her ear just in time to hear the end of Sally Bennett's conversation with Zach.

"-a dark red one. The handle is duct taped because it broke right before I left. But I don't understand. Why do you need to know what kind of bag I have?"

The cargo hold was dark and cramped and Cammie stumbled over the luggage as she crawled around in the deep space. "Got it. Dark red, duct tape."

She shined the small beam around the hold and spotted Bennett's suitcase right in front of her. After going over this bag, much like she had with the other one, she finally at up and sighed. "It's not here. There's nothing in it."

"You sure?" Zach muttered under his breath.

"Positive." Suddenly something dawned on her. "Oh no."

"What? Cammie, we don't have time for any 'oh no's."

"I think I know what it is." Cammie turned around as best she could and began climbing back to the other end of the cargo hold. "Liz was telling me the other day…about a…thing…just like this." She reached the wall and stopped short at what looked like a computer interface in a small cubby. Quickly pulling out her phone, she dialed Liz's number, and explained the situation as best she could in 30 seconds.

"…and there's nothing in their suitcases. This sounds like that case with the-"

"Yeah, I remember…" Liz sounded worried. "Okay, did you find what looks like a computer-"

"-Already looking at it," Cammie interrupted.

"Okay, but does it look like it's hooked up to the plane's electrical system?"

Cammie studied the wires and screens. "Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, find an A.V. adapter and connect your phone to one of the USB ports. I'm going to hack into your comms so you can use your phone."

There was a short burst of static as they worked.

Liz giggled. "I can't believe I'm remote accessing a plane's electrical system from 3,000 miles away. Jonas is gonna be jealous that he missed this one."

"Focus Liz."

"Right, I- Oh, no."

"Oh no?"

"I'm reading an electrical spike. Quick, Cammie, do you see anything that could be interfering with the signal?"

Cammie moved the flashlight around, stopping as the beam hit a black box that had cords running up past her line of vision. "I think so. This looks like it might be running into the conduits."

There was an uncomfortable radio silence.

"Liz?"

"Cammie. The device you found- is it anywhere near an orange box?"

"Yeah."

"Oh God." Liz sounded truly scared. "They tapped into the black box."

"No, it's orange." Cammie corrected.

"The black boxes _are_ orange. Makes them easier to find if the plane crashes."

"Oh. _Oh._" Cammie's eyes widened.

"What does that mean?" Zach spoke up for the first time.

"Means they've hacked into the flight's computer, which means they have access to the system, which means they can spoof the black-Box data all at the same time."

"So they can crash the plane without anyone knowing?" Zach asked.

Liz sounded pre-occupied. "Uh-huh."

Cammie looked over at the screen as it began to flicker. "Uh-guys… Zach, get to the cockpit! Now!"

-:-:-:-

Zach opened the door to the cockpit, startling the pilots.

"What are you doing?" the first one yelled. "You can't be in here!"

"Listen to me! I'm a U.S. Air Marshal-"

Zach was cut off as a shudder ran through the plane and the nose of the plane began to dive. He grabbed the back of the nearest chair and held on.

"They're in! They're bringing it down!" he heard Cammie yell.

-:-:-:-

Cammie grunted as she was thrown backwards into a stack of luggage. "LIZ!"

"I'm working on it," came Liz's terse reply. "Okay, Cammie, cut all the wires between the device and the black box."

"Got it." Cammie began the frustrating crawl over the luggage and back to the control panel.

-:-:-:-

"It's non-responsive. We've got to reset!" The pilot said as he surveyed everything in front of him.

"No not yet!" Liz yelled.

"Not yet!" Zach relayed.

The pilot looked at him.

"Trust me! On my mark!"

The man nodded. "Okay!"

"Okay, Cammie, I've got a lock on the virus! I just need to-"

"10,000 feet and dropping." The pilot grabbed Zach's attention.

-:-:-:-

"Okay, Cammie," Liz said. "I've got a lock on the virus! I just need to get ahead of it, and stop it. Cammie, don't clip the last wire until I say!"

"Got it." Cammie continued to cut the wires with a pair of little haircutting scissors she had found in the nearest suitcase.

"Okay! Clip it!"

Cammie snipped the last wire.

-:-:-:-

"It's clean!" Liz yelled.

"Reset now!" Zach ordered the pilot.

"Regaining control. It's back!" The pilot grinned as he grabbed the steering column, attempting to pull the plane up from its nosedive.

"C'mon..." Zach muttered as he watched the altitude drop. Suddenly the numbers slowed as the pilot regained control of the plane.

-:-:-:-

"They've got it." Zach's voice came over the comm. "We're safe."

Cammie collapsed against the luggage with a sigh as Liz's shriek reverberated through their comm links.

It was finally over. She slowly breathed out, a relief filling her that only came from an extremely close call.

Cammie slowly picked herself up and headed back towards the entry panel. Once out, she stood up and looked straight into the eyes of the flight attendant.

"Did you find your partner's inhaler?" The woman raised an eyebrow, as if she didn't quite believe Cammie's fictional story.

Cammie smiled and held up the little plastic device in her left hand. "I did, thank you." She tossed it at Zach as he exited the cockpit and walked towards them. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

-:-:-:-

Cammie collapsed in her seat and leaned her head back against the waiting headrest. She listened as the pilot's voice was broadcasted over the intercom, explaining that the plane would be landing at the nearest airport due to some complications, and that they would be put on a different flight that would take them to their destination.

"Hopefully the rest of the flight will be less chaotic." Zach said as he resumed his place next to her. "Next time, let's do one case at a time."

Cammie gave a noncommittal noise in response. She saw him shift slightly out of the corner of her eye, but he said nothing.

She knew that the talk was coming, and coming fast. The one where he would demand answers, she would demand them back. She knew that they would both eventually explode under the pressure they were placing on themselves and on each other, and that the result was not going to be pretty, but necessary. She knew that all of this was inevitable, and that if they were ever going to work comfortably together again, it was all going to happen soon.

But she was going to prolong it as long as she possibly could. Because once it did happen…

Nothing was going to be the same.

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><p>First ten reviewers get a preview from later in the story :) (A really important part of the story, too!)<p> 


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